WASHINGTON – Event recorders, the train equivalent of an airplane’s “black box,” will be improved to make sure critical information survives train accidents according to a proposed rule issued June 30 by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
“The survival of data is key to understanding why a train accident happened,” [...]

CALGARY – Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Norfolk Southern Railway (NSR) on June 30 signed a memorandum of understanding for an exchange of trackage rights, freight haulage and yard services that both railroads say will increase operational efficiency and enhance rail service to customers.
“This agreement with NSR opens up new opportunity to move our northeastern [...]

SEATTLE – By an 8-1 vote, the Seattle City Council this month approved the route alignment for the Seattle Monorail Project’s Green Line, moving the voter-approved transit project a step closer to becoming a reality.
“This is a huge accomplishment for the Council, for the Monorail Project and for the City,” said Council President Jan Drago, [...]

CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific Railway has become the first Canadian railway to use a PLUS train – a high-speed ballast unloading system that is revolutionizing the way the company spreads new ballast to maintain the integrity of a track roadbed.
PLUS or “Programmable Linear Unloading System,” reduces ballast spreading to a fraction of the time [...]

WASHINGTON – Government officials say new legislation will expand and improve anti-terrorist security programs for passenger railroad and freight rail systems. The bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 17.
“The Protecting Railroads against Enemy Efforts through Modernization, Planning and Technology Act” (PREEMPT) was introduced by: U.S. Rep. [...]

An Indian passenger train derailed Wednesday, killing as many as 20 people and injuring scores more, officials said.
An Associated Press photograph showed a passenger coach dangling from a railway bridge. According to CNN, an engine and three passenger cars from the train – known as the Matsyagandha Express – fell off the 65-foot tall bridge [...]

NEW CARROLLTON, Md. – A woman, who fell off a platform and under an Amtrak train, avoided injuries, published reported indicate.
“It appears to be an accidental fall,” Maryland Gazette Newspapers quoted Chauncey Bowers, spokesman for the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, as saying. “Unfortunately, she ended up falling onto the track bed and under a [...]

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania State Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf (R-12) has introduced legislation that would help provide dedicated and predictable funding for public transit agencies throughout Pennsylvania. State Representative John J. Taylor (R-177) intends to introduce identical legislation in the near future.
“Efficient and effective public transportation is critically important to the economic [...]

ATLANTA — MARTA’s rail operations are safe – for now, at least.
Last month, operating and capital budgets for FY ’05 were passed, and although no reductions to rail service were included, 300 employees were cut. Of those, 244 were bus operators and 56 were bus maintenance employees.
“Although we’ve been able to maintain operating costs in [...]

A National Transportation Safety Board report has determined that track maintenance could be partially responsible for the July 29, 2002, derailment of Amtrak’s Capital Limited, in Kensington, Md.
No one was killed in the derailment. However, 16 people, including two Amtrak crewmembers, suffered “serious injuries,” the report indicates. Another 79 people, including eight crewmembers, suffered  “minor [...]